I stare at the screen, debating whether to answer it at all. I already know exactly what he’s going to say. Maybe that’s why I swipe and accept the call.
“What?”
There’s no patience left for anything else.
“I should ask you the same fucking question, brother,” Holt says, calm and controlled. “What the fuck did you do?”
I let out a quiet breath and turn back to the window. “I should never have let it happen. So I handled it.”
“Did you?”
The question just sits there because I don’t have an answer. Not a good one anyway.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Ha.” His laugh is quick and sharp. “You know that’s bullshit, Luke. If anyone knows what the fuck I’m talking about, it’s me.”
I hate that he’s right.
“I also know that she showed up at my cabin, completely heart broken,” he continues. “And I know that you think you’re doing the right thing. The same way I did.”
My jaw tightens. I remember clearly the day I confronted Holt about his relationship with my daughter. After seeing red when I realized he’d dared put a hand on her, I saw the truth. He was desperately in love with her, and he’d pushed her away in an effort toprotect her.Instead, he’d crushed her.
Fuck him. Itwasthe same.
But also, it was different.
“You forget,” I say. “I’ve been here before, Holt. I know exactly what kind of damage I can do to someone. How much will Ido. I can’t do it again. I can’t do it to Lilly.”
“That’s not your call,” Holt replies, just as steady as before. “You don’t get to make those decisions for her, and you know it.”
I look out the window at my truck that’s buried in almost a foot of snow already. The storm is picking up. The wind rattles the windows. The wind is whipping the snow so hard it’s almost blinding.
I drag a hand down my face, my gaze dropping to the floor as the truth settles in, despite my best efforts to keep it out. “She’s there?” I ask after a moment.
“Yes.”
That’s all I need.
“I’m coming.”
I don’t let myself think about it or question the safety of going out on the already dangerous mountain roads in weather like this. I grab my keys, my coat, and head out into the howling storm.
Chapter Sixteen
Luke
“What the fuckdo you mean she’s not here?”
Snow clings to my coat, melting fast in the heat of Holt and Tessa’s cabin. Or maybe it’s the energy radiating from me.
But I don’t have time to care about the puddles I’m leaving on their hardwood floor.
I pushed my truck to the limit in the building storm, driving the icy, snow-covered roads much faster than was safe. Even so, it apparently hadn’t been fast enough.
“She left,” Tessa says, coming to stand next to Holt. Her face is twisted into a mask of concern. “I thought she was in the bath,” she says. “We were in the kitchen talking,and when I came out and went to check on her…she was?—”
“When?” I cut her off, already moving, like standing still for one second longer will only make this worse. “How long?” I press when she doesn’t answer me.
